Most Powerful Military Forces in Southern and Eastern Asia

Vietnam

Vietnam’s had its own share of conflict, especially with the US and China. But as the single strongest voice contesting the South China Sea with China, they’ve had to become unlikely allies with the US – the one major power with enough interests to keep China from claiming the south China islands.

In 2016, the US lifted a ban it had previously placed on Vietnam’s ability to acquire made in the US lethal weapons, allowing them to purchase submarines that deter Chinese aggression. So far, they’ve acquired 108 fighter jets, 2,575 combat tanks, 150 rocket projectors, 6 submarines, and 59 other naval assets.

credit: Wikipedia
Their active personnel stands at 482,000, with 5 million more in reserve, and they have a special forces unit that’s been active since the Viet Cong, which was the name given to the National Liberation Front of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Vietnam budgets $3.365 billion for its military, most of which is geared towards technological advancement of their current military power. Russia remains the largest supplier of equipment for the Vietnamese military, but in recent years there has been a surge of arm deals with various countries, including India, Turkey, Israel, Japan, South Korea and France. In 2016, US President Barrack Obama lifted the embargo on lethal weapons sales to Vietnam.